MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and the United States are in talks on a possible prisoner swap that could secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine jailed for spying, within two to three months, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday. Russia convicted Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, of spying last June and sentenced him to 16 years in jail. Whelan's Russian lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said that talks on an exchange were now taking place between Russian and U.S. security services. Zherebenkov has said in the past that he believed Moscow wanted an exchange deal that could include Whelan. It has not been previously reported that talks with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration were happening.

Source: The Star February 15, 2021 19:07 UTC